1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a method and system for using a Fibre Channel. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for tracking Fibre Channel devices with GPS technology.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data Storage has become an increasingly important issue for business people and IT professionals. Organizations store records in databases regarding customers, products, competitors, and other records. This storage space becomes expensive when more data is stored. These expenses can be potentially prohibitive for small businesses who must employ people to manage the data, purchase storage equipment and software, and ensure that the data is properly protected from disaster or storage device failure. A solution to this problem comes in the form of an emerging technology called Fibre Channel. Fibre Channel can be used to connect devices to each other, including connecting computer systems to storage devices such as SAN devices.
Fibre Channel is a high speed (100 to 1000 Mbps currently, with speeds increasing quickly over time) medium used for data transfer and storage. It is essentially a serial data channel preferably created over fiber optic cabling. Fibre Channel provides a logical bi-directional, point-to-point connection between a host and a device. Similar to networking technologies using local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) configurations, Fibre Channel also is used to connect PCs, servers, printers, and storage devices. Because Fibre Channel allows the use of fiber optic cabling, connections along a Fibre Channel network makes it possible to transfer data at greater distances. In addition, Fibre Channel makes high-speed data transfers possible. Fibre Channel also provides increased bandwidth over communication channels.
Channels and networks are the two primary ways that data is transferred between devices. Such devices include processors and peripherals such as printers and storage devices. Channels transfer data through switched or direct point to point connections. Channels work by creating a fixed connection between the source and destination devices until the transfer is complete. Channels transfer data at high speeds and are very economical. Networks (i.e., LAN or WAN), on the other hand are collections of nodes such as processors, print devices, and workstations. Connections on networks are typically slower than those made via channels. Also, because networks are software intensive, they are much more expensive due to upgrade and compatibility issues. Channels work best among few devices and connect via predefined addresses. Networks, on the other hand, can handle multiple requests among multiple connections.
Fibre Channel is hybrid of both network and channel methods. Consequently, Fibre Channel is often considered a new I/O (input/output) interface that combines the best of networks and channels. In addition, Fibre Channel systems can be configured in different ways depending on needs of the user, thus providing flexibility in an ever changing systems environment.
Although the ideal medium for Fibre Channel is fiber optic cabling, Fibre Channel can also be used with a variety of cable types such as copper, coaxial cables or Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) wires. Fiber optic cabling is generally preferred on a Fibre Channel system for purposes of increased speed and reliability. Fiber optic cabling works by using photons to transmit digital signals. A laser light connected to a device pulses in binary format (0""s and 1""s). A light emitting diode (LED) codes and transmits the signal from one end of the cable. This signal is subsequently decoded at the other end of the cable by a photo-detector connected to the receiving device. Fiber optic cables do not have the same challenges that are associated with copper cabling. These challenges include attenuation (loss of signal strength) and noise. Fiber optic cables are also more secure than copper cables because crosstalk does not occur with Fiber Optic cables (crosstalk is interference caused by a signal transferring from one circuit to another, as on a telephone line). This insures that data being transferred across a network gets to its destination intact which makes the stored data more reliable for the user.
Fibre Channel technology makes use of classes of service to define messaging types (communication between devices). According to the ANSI standard, a Fibre Channel system""s classes of service can be 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6. These classes make it possible to configure Fibre Channel systems according to the needs of the users.
In a class 1 configuration, there is a dedicated channel between two connection devices. In this configuration, if a host and a device are connected, no other host uses the connection. The advantage of using service class 1 is speed and reliability which is an excellent combination for mass storage use such as in a data library. Class 2 is known as a xe2x80x9cconnectionlessxe2x80x9d service. Class 2 provides a frame-switched link that guarantees delivery of packets from device to device. It also provides packet receipt acknowledgments. In this configuration, bandwidth is shared among several devices, as there is no dedicated link. The third Fibre Channel service class (Class 3) is called xe2x80x9cunacknowledged connectionless servicexe2x80x9d and is often used for messages that do not need to be acknowledged, as there is no acknowledgement with a Class 3 configuration. Class 4 is called xe2x80x9cfraction bandwidth connection orientedxe2x80x9d and allows a device to reserve a portion of the overall bandwidth and use the reserved portion to create a dedicated channel between devices (similar to Class 1, except only part of the available bandwidth is used for the dedicated channel). Class 6 is called xe2x80x9cmulticastxe2x80x9d and is used for one-to-many broadcast communications over the Fibre Channel network. There is an additional Fibre Channel service class called xe2x80x9cintermix,xe2x80x9d which creates a dedicated connection like that of class one, but it also allows class 2 traffic to access the link. This method is efficient and allows for greater bandwidth because more than one connection can access the system at any time.
The Fibre Channel Structure, or architecture, is set forth in the table below. The layers in the table represent a different function that exists within a Fibre channel system.
Storage Area Networks are increasing in popularity due to high demand by users who need to store large volumes of data. In addition, the cost of magnetic media that comprise Storage Area Networks continues to fall, thus making large data networks both attractive and feasible. The data in a Storage Area Network might be used in data warehouses or decision support systems used by businesses. There are also new applications for Storage Area Networks such as fault tolerant RAID clusters. Storage Area Networks can operate using network interconnect devices such as SCSI, Fibre Channel, HIPPI, or Sonnet. A SAN is a group of storage devices connected via a network of connections to hosts machines across greater distances than are possible on a traditional LAN. Storage Area Networks enable users to store large volumes of data at remote locations. These remote locations, called libraries, make it possible for businesses to store their data, whether for the purpose of creating backups or moving data management away from the primary site. If used for storage, a SAN will typically contain many high capacity Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) devises configured for the specific interconnect device used on the SAN. Other types of data that can be stored on SAN devices include databases, video, and streaming media. On a Storage Area Network using a Fibre Channel interconnect, backups can be performed throughout the workday, thereby eliminating timely and costly after hours backups. Storage Area Networks eliminate bottlenecks that make it difficult to access data on traditional networks.
On a Fibre Channel loop or fabric, each device connected to the Fibre Channel interconnect has a node name (Node_Name) and one or more port names (Port_Names). The Node_Name and Port_Names are unique, 64-bit identifies assigned to the specific device, or node, and its ports. Node_Names and Port_Names are assigned so that no two nodes in the world have the same Node_Names and Port_Names. Together, the Node_Name and Port_Names are referred to as a devices World Wide Name (WWN).
The modern business environment has become more competitive and more complex. Companies store very important data regarding the business and its operations on storage devices such as SANs. Care is often taken to backup the data onto tapes or other backup media. In addition, redundant drives or computer systems can also be used to backup mission critical data. Catastrophes, however, often involve a large geographical area, such as a city or area of a country, that is affected by a natural disaster, war, or other calamitous event. Oftentimes, mission critical data and the corresponding backup data is stored in one geographical location. If a catastrophe occurs in the area, the organization may suffer an irreparable data loss.
In addition, organizational data is often needed by multiple locations. For example, an office in Atlanta may need to access data, through a Fibre channel network, that is stored in Dallas. If the Dallas data is unavailable, due to a catastrophe or other event, an alternative data where the same data is stored, such as Houston, may need to be accessed instead. A challenge, however, is managing data stored on devices connected to a Fibre channel network so that geographical considerations are managed in the event of a large scale catastrophe occurring at one location.
A global positioning system (GPS) has been developed to indicate a geographic position of a device (i.e., a GPS receiver) located somewhere on the globe. Located hundreds of miles above the earth, GPS uses satellites to triangulate a traveler""s location and determine the exact location of the traveler on the earth within a few feet. GPS devices have been developed and placed in automobiles, airplanes, and hand-held devices to assist people while traveling across the earth. The devices determine the distance from satellites and triangulate the data to determine a geographic coordinate. Devices can then transpose other known structures, such as highways, cities, and points of interest to orient the user using a graphical display.
Consequently, what is needed is a system and method for identifying and managing storage device locations interconnected on a computer network, such as SAN devices interconnected over a Fibre Channel topology.
It has been discovered that a GPS device, or a technician carrying a GPS device, can be used in conjunction with a device, such as a SAN device, to record and track the device""s location. In one embodiment, a device periodically reports its location, using an integrated GPS device, to one or more computer systems that track device locations. In another embodiment, a system sends a request to devices requesting the devices"" geographic location. The devices, in turn, respond with data corresponding to their geographic location. The geographic location data is stored by the computer systems.
In the event of a catastrophe or other event rendering devices in one area inoperable, a computer system that previously gathered GPS data corresponding to devices on the network can be used to identify a location of another device that includes similar data. If a larger geographic area is subject to the catastrophic conditions, then a device in another location can be selected.
In another embodiment, the GPS data corresponding to a device location is used to determine which technician should respond to an outage event. In this embodiment, technicians use GPS devices to report their geographic positions. When a device is disabled, the computer system retrieves the disabled device""s geographic location. The system then queries the geographic location of multiple technicians and determines which of the technicians is closest to the disabled device whereupon a dispatch message is transmitted to the closest technician.
The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity, simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, inventive features, and advantages of the present invention, as defined solely by the claims, will become apparent in the non-limiting detailed description set forth below.